Kore
by wearethewitches
Summary: cont. of starry night verse - but idols can rip you down to the core, just by looking.


In Lexanne Luthor's head, she refers to herself as _Lex_. She does this because she can't bear thinking of herself as _Alexander_ or even _Lexanne_ , despite how it's what she's wanted for so long. Lionel is like a hawk, watching for any and all changes that would cause his perfect son to disappear.

 _Lex Luthor_ , she thinks, _I am Lex Luthor_. Until Lionel disowns her finally, at least.

Curling up around Lois, she wonders what it could be like without his overbearing presence – without him sending her letters and constant emails, telling _him_ to be here and there, at this meeting and this opening. Even in the Ranch, Lex doesn't feel safe. Even with a horde of aliens from another planet willing to defend her, willing to fight for her because she's _family_ and no other reason, Lex doesn't feel safe.

"I love you, Lois, but nowhere will I be safe from my fathers wrath," Lex whispers to her beloved, before getting out of bed. Silently, she gathers her clothes, pulling on her new bra, new females underwear, new females skinny jeans, new females tank-top and new females flannel shirt. New. _Females._ Lex is disappointed that this will be all she can keep, until she returns to Luthor Manor and Lionel orders them disposed of. Going into the ensuite bathroom, Lex does her makeup, pencils perfect brows and paints perfect winged liner. Pale foundation, soft bronzer, red lip-liner and matching red lip-stick.

 _Lionel will take this all away. Look at yourself and see who you truly are, before it's all taken away,_ she thinks, combing her soft, short blonde curls out from her head, using gel to style them the way she wants and hairspray to make them stick. _See yourself. You're perfect. I'm perfect._

She doesn't look at Lois as she leaves the room, shutting the door quietly and going downstairs, using meditative techniques to keep her breathing steady and her heart-rate normal. Lex lives in a house full of aliens and none of those aliens would think twice before coming to ask what's wrong. It's only midnight – her 'aunts' might even be up, eating those silly _pot-noodles_.

Lex refuses to admit their coping mechanism works, whenever she's drawn into it.

Luckily, the kitchen and dining area is empty, but Lex has to retrieve a set of car-keys and nearly has a heart-attack as a stranger makes herself known from the living room at the noise.

"Where are you heading? I would have thought most of this household to be sleeping, at this time."

Lex breathes in, slowing her breathing and twisting to look at the woman sitting on the sofa. "Not in this household."

Quickly, Lex realises the woman is the famed Wonder Woman. Used to oddities in the Ranch – used to those with superpowers – Lex doesn't blink twice at seeing her, wrapped up in Aunt Lara's favourite couch blanket and wearing one of the few sets of pyjamas his amazon of a mother calls ' _too big_ '. A book, the Silmarillion, Lex thinks, sits on her lap and for some strange reason, she thinks her face familiar in a different way to how _Wonder Woman_ associated in her mind.

"Forgive me for not knowing your name. I am here for Thanksgiving dinner, tomorrow. I am Princess Diana – I was acquainted with your mother, Lara, when she was injured. She healed on my island, Themyscira."

"She's not my mother," Lex says plainly, elaborating at Diana's frown. "Lillian is my mother. My father is…" Lex hesitates, but feeling hate on her tongue, lets it out. "Lionel Luthor."

To her surprise, Diana looks startled. "Lena?"

Lex raises an eyebrow. "I'm her older sister. I was once her brother, Alexander the second. I am now Lexanne, though the nickname 'Lex' still carries on from my previous identity. How do you know Lena?"

"Lena…" Diana seems speechless and Lex recognises her face from somewhere. She _knows that face._

"Have we met before?" Lex questions, placing the car keys on the hook again. Her escape can wait, for she may not have another chance at questioning the famed Themysciran. Walking into the living room, she sits down calmly on the other end of the sofa, taking in every detail of her face, trying to remember.

Diana briefly peers at her. "Maybe. Perhaps. You were a male, one?" Lex nods shortly. "Maybe. When you were young."

"When I was nine," Lex speaks without thinking, then questions her own words, narrowing her eyes at Diana. "Nine. Nineteen ninety-two. Nine, ten…fifteen. Lena. You know her name because you named her, didn't you? You're her mother."

"You are- you are astounding," Diana shakes her head, sitting up straight. "Truly astounding."

"And you're a disappointment," Lex glares, words obviously affecting Diana, who widens her eyes. "You left Lena behind – what was so wrong with her that you couldn't raise her yourself? She barely remembers you and father always said it was on purpose, that she was old enough to remember you by the time she came into our household. Mother _hated_ her for _so_ long, Diana. My mother, Lillian Elliot, hated that girl."

"Then-" Diana makes a face of confusion, "They said she and Lara had daughters and a son – I met the son, Noel. Lena. But they love the three of you so very much, how can she hate her?"

"Things changed. Mother divorced father and pled for custody of Lena. She adopted her when she came into the family, with equal rights to her that father had. However, frankly that is none of your business and if you try ambushing Lena, I'll slice your throat clean through with a kitchen knife. I won't need your precious sword to do it."

Diana's face is full with horror – familiar, _familiar_ horror – and then Lara is beside them, having sped to their side.

"Lex, what the hell? Why are you threatening Diana?"

"She's Lena's biological mother," Lex reveals, cold satisfaction rising as Diana grips the Silmarillion so hard the cover cracks.

"That doesn't explain why you're threatening to murder her, Lexanne."

Lex sends her mothers wife a nasty look for the use of her full name, however another sight causes the Luthor to freeze. _My awareness of my surroundings is far, far lesser than I believed five minutes ago_ , she thinks in fascinated desperation as Lena gets up from the bean-bag chair hidden under the stairs. Lena looks stricken and so more confused than Lex has ever seen her before – and as always, as always, _young as ever._

"Other mama's not here," Lena says faintly, confusing Lex even as Diana and Lara look over to her, startled by her sudden presence on the first floor. "I don't understand. I- why did you leave me behind?"

"Lena," Diana whispers, voice full of reverence as she gets to her feet, Silmarillion dropping onto the sofa. Lex looks at Diana then, truly _looks_. The Amazon is beautiful, with none to compare – _except something in Lex's mind thinks of Lois_ – and she is-

So.

 _Young._

"Immortality," Lex says, then questions as memories of history lessons, of an unchanging Wonder Woman over the last century, flash before her eyes. "Immortality? Is that not the answer? Lena is biologically Lionel Alexander Luthor's, but if she is only half-Themysciran, then the chance of her inheriting immortality is only fifty percent."

"Astounding," Diana repeats her earlier descriptor, filling Lex with unadulterated pride. She stands, ignoring how Lois walks down the staircase, frowning at Lex's makeup, hair and clothes.

"You were always going to come back, seek her out, yes? You would have returned."

"Yes. Always," Diana swears, coming around the couch to kneel in front of her. "I swear, I was always coming back, to make sure you were happy, at least."

"I have a soulmate," Lena's voice cracks, "I haven't- I'm young, I'm _young_ and she's only human."

"If she can prove her worth, I would gladly vouch for her on Themyscira, as would your other mother."

Lex doesn't know where her own mother is, but she can see how this might get out of control. Already, Lara looks lost. Meeting eyes with Lois, Lex thinks up a plan that undoubtedly, her soulmate has come up with herself. Clearing her throat, Lex draws everyone's attention to herself.

"Before we start getting ahead of ourselves, I very much believe that Diana, you should sit down again, preferably in a corner away from everyone, at the moment. Lena, if you would wake mother, along with Lara and explain who Diana really is in reference to yourself, that would be excellent. Try not to wake Noel at the same time," Lex looks to Lois as Diana starts to protest, her soulmate telling Diana off in a whip-crack.

Truly, Lois' dressing down for Diana's handling of the situation despite apparently being centuries old is _gold._

Meanwhile, Lex – while she loves her sister, while she wants to support Lena – picks up the car-keys from the hanger again, slipping downstairs to the garage. Unfortunately, Lex mistakes Noel's absence, instead finding him playing about with the insides of the very Ford Lex had hoped to skip Ranch with.

"Where are you going?" Noel questions, as if the very notion is bizarre. "It's the middle of the night."

"You should be in bed, asleep."

"We all should, but everyone is awake," Noel tucks a spanner into his belt, scratching his nose with an oily finger, leaving a mark. "Where are you going?"

"None of your business," Lex bristles at the boy who by all rights is her brother. "Why are you fiddling with the car engine?"

"Because I need practice with Earth machines. I've only just made my way up again to automobile level. When I was a toddler, I could take apart some fancy machinery, but it's not the same on Earth. What about you, where are you going?"

"I'm not going to answer you," Lex snaps, before chucking the keys on a nearby bench, huffing and making her way back upstairs to her room.

"Come here," Lois waves her over to the bed, makeup wipes already set out and ready. Lex dutifully sits, shutting her eyes as Lois slides the second skin off as if she's been doing it forever. "Why were you leaving?"

Lex doesn't want to answer.

Lois lets her have her silence. She already knows, anyhow.

 _This is what it means to be soulmates._


End file.
